IBSTOCK HERITAGE TRAIL
A Brief History
Human activity in very early times is shown by the scatters of worked flint that have been found in the parish. Pottery and coins from the Iron Age and Roman periods have also been found suggesting continuous occupation over thousands of years. A Roman town lying to the north of the parish is now known to have stretched for at least a kilometre along the Via Devana, a Roman road that passed through the north of the current parish.
The village name is thought to have been derived from ‘Ibba's Stoc’. The name Ibba is similar to Mercian names like Offa and perhaps the village of Ibstock dates from that period. Stoc, an old word simply meaning 'place', perhaps had some more particular meaning when used in place names. One suggestion is 'secondary settlement', which might be appropriate at Ibstock as there is evidence that the village was settled on open fields already in cultivation.
The Burtons were lords of the manor just after the Norman Conquest but had to give a substantial part of their land (nearly 600 acres, about a quarter of the parish) to Garendon Abbey when members of the family fell victim to the general lawlessness that ranged over northern Leicestershire during the mid-12th century. The land was given in exchange for silver that the Abbey had provided to free members of the family from captivity. Granges were set up and farms known as Pickering Grange and Ibstock Grange survive today.
The Paget family were successful farmers in the village particularly during the 18th century. They first appear in village records in the late15th century and held land here until 2000. The family built a reputation for innovative farming methods and rearing fine livestock. From this success they moved into banking and politics. Thomas Paget (born in Ibstock in 1778) became Lord Mayor of Leicester and as an MP worked on the Reform Act of 1832. The Paget family burial vault is in the parish church yard. As with many villages in the county, small scale industry began with framework knitting during the 18th century but with the opening of the colliery in 1825, Ibstock entered a period of large scale mining that was to have a huge effect on the village. By the end of the 19th century the colliery was a major enterprise that included the manufacture of clay products, which survives today as the business of the largest employer in the village.
HERITAGE TRAIL
Starting at the lay-by next to the church on the A447 (marked A on the map below) , take the path through the hedge onto Church Avenue with its fine Lime trees planted during the late 19th century. The church of St Denys, described as 'stately' by Pevsner, is said to date from the early 14th century, though there is a list of rectors from 1160. William Laud, a prominent figure during the Reformation was rector at Ibstock from 1617 to 1626. He was later appointed Archbishop of Canterbury but was beheaded during the Civil War.
Walking up the drive towards the High Street the rectory (on the right) was rebuilt around 1800 in a grand style reflecting the prosperity of the living. (A new rectory has now been built on the opposite side of the main road). At the junction, the old Crown Inn building can be seen on the corner of the main road. (The walk will finish at this corner). Ivy House Farm, opposite Church Avenue is one of a number of old farms shown on the Enclosure map of 1775 to be owned by the Clare family. (See map extracts further down this page. Note that though there are many differences, the map depicts the village much as it is today). The road going up by the side of the farm is known today as Hall Street after the Town Hall that stood at the top of the lane at one time. This building had actually been constructed as the British School in 1847 for the education of children of the nonconformist families in the village.
B Passing by the former Church Hall (originally the stable block of the Rectory), before turning right into Overton Road (Locker's Lane) and passing by some fine boundary walls, the Manor House can be seen on the left. This house was probably the manor house of Overton (known in early documents as 'Otherton' perhaps meaning the 'Other farmstead') . The road here cuts across the corner of the ancient glebe plot (see Enclosure map-west end extract) and therefore probably came later, perhaps dating from the early 13th century when the Overton manor was separated from Ibstock. A little further down the lane on the right, a triangular enclosure is also a result of the later addition of the road. A small ruin in this triangular plot is known as Laud's Chimney though it is perhaps unlikely to have been part of the Rectory from Laud's time since it lies outside the ancient glebe. It is probably the remains of a farmhouse, perhaps occupied by the Locker family, whose name appears in village records from the 18th century.
C The enclosure opposite, known as Brick Kiln close on 18th century maps, can be seen to have had a number of buildings which no longer stand though earthworks are still visible along with ridge and furrow. Ahead, the bend in the road by Brookside Cottage is perhaps a clue to the original line of the road which probably continued straight on towards the High Street. The lane continues up the hill and in 1775 the area to the right was known as Mill Hill close so presumably there was a windmill on the top of the hill at one time. (A village survey of 1279 refers to a windmill in Overton).
Returning to the High Street and turning right the road goes by a number of properties in the 'Arts and Crafts style of the late 19th century with terracotta panels, half timbering and white painted plasterwork' (Conservation Area study, Leicestershire County Council 2001). The openarea on the left that the road bends round is known as Dovecote Yard which perhaps marks the plot as being significant in the early history of the village. The farm with this land belonged to the Clare family during the 17th and 18th centuries.
D On the left by the second bend, Holmsdale Manor was another farm that had been owned by the Clares who rebuilt it extensively at the end of the 18th century. The line of an earlier steep pitched gable can be seen at the west end of the house which suggests a lower, thatched building atone time. Earlier names are believed to have included Waterloo Villa and the current name was given during the late 19th century by the Hind family who lived there from 1882 to 1923. The family had prospered from their involvement with Swithland slate quarrying over several generations. Sarah Hind inherited money and built up a considerable estate of property in Ibstock during the early 20th century.
Opposite, once occupying the site of the cornerhouse and No. 143, was the 'Old House', referred to in early 19th century deeds, which had become four cottages by that time. It seems that all the cottages were either knocked down or partially rebuilt and finally No. 143 was built during the 1860s. Moving along the street past Poplar Farm on the right, an old farm re-fronted around 1900, we come to a way that crosses at right angles. E To the left, Reform Road was named after the Wesleyan Reform Chapel built there in the 1850s. To the right the way is known as South Road and may have linked up with the lane through Overton at one time.
On the left, the Doctors' surgery was the site of a coal yard run by the Ison sisters into the 20th century. Opposite are two listed buildings,
Nos.119 and 121. The photograph above shows a street scene from the early 1900s with the old forge and neighbouring thatched
cottage on the right just before the big tree. Further up on the left, the draper’s shop shown on the photograph below is the newsagent and
Post Office today. F
G The area next to Gladstone Street, now occupied by the car park, stretching up to Melbourne Road was known as the Ragged Yard according to 19th century deeds. This was undeveloped until the 1820s and may have originated as a way to the open fields (known as a slang). We will return to Gladstone Street for the final part of the walk. Opposite, now a housing estate, is an area that was known as the Mottes which was perhaps an early meeting place in the village. A little further down the High Street on the left, No. 88 was known as the Bank House and was home to different banks during the early 20th century. Next an early farm set back from the road, known as Four Thorn Farm, was associated with the Paget family during the 18th century. The farm buildings and crew yard survive largely intact. The house shows clear signs of several stages of building. H (east end map)
Opposite, the two old cottages clearly date from after 1775 as there are no buildings shown on the map. Walking on down the street. Many of the houses have facades which hide much older buildings. I The National School (1818) stands on the corner of Grange Road. Deeds tell us that it was built on land 'anciently' known as the Highway Close. The route of the Highway remains today as the footpath up through the jitty to Heather and down through Grange Road towards Bagworth. This Highway may well have predated the village. The old infant school building standson the left a little further down Grange Road. It was replaced by a new school in the 1960s.
M The next photo shows the junction with Chapel Street, named after the Baptist Chapel that was built in 1855. Prior to this the street had been known as Brick Kiln Lane (1841 census).
Retracing your steps back down the High Street to the Whimsey Inn G and turning right into Gladstone Street, the house beyond the top of the car park was the site of the first Post Office in the village (1843). Walking up the hill, the area on both sides was developed during the mid-19th century to cater for the expanding population in the village resulting from mining. Many of these houses have now been demolished and the area was re-developed after the war. Continuing past the Boot Inn to the junction with Melbourne Road, turning left and walking for a moment will bring you to the site of the old manor house (photo below) on the left. N (Note the prominence of this site on the west end map)
Further along the High Street on the right, No. 49 is an example of an early house alongside Victorian facades. The house appears to have been a cottage with a baffle entry at one time (entry was through a central front door either side of the chimney stack). (C E Cawte Parish Warden’s Standing Archeology Report on Ibstock 2000). J A fine image showing the High Street as it would have looked like before Victorian rebuilding, is given by the next photo (c1895).
K Over the road, a little further down, Harratt’s Close marks the site of Harratt Brothers, Coachbuilders , where ‘a tree trunk went in and a carriage came out’. This land had been previously owned by Thomas Clare who, in 1730 had left a small house on this site, to be used as a school room. This remained in use until the National School was built in 1818.
The next photo shows Crane's butchers during the early 1900s. The building survives today as a fine example of a Victorian building in original order. L Below, the photo of the street around 1900 shows the Ram Inn though the Palace Theatre had yet to be built. The area to the rear of these buildings had been the site of the workhouse (which moved to Market Bosworth in 1843).
Further down on the same side is the Methodist chapel. O The site of the Bufton windmill is over to the right on Station Road and can be seen on the map extract.
Carrying on down the hill brings you back to the Crown corner. Opposite, the village ceramic with its interpretation board is the finishing point of the walk. P
